A/N: Rated M. But only towards the end. To anyone who finds underage Bonnie with 37-y.o. disguised as 22 y.o. Kai squicky, please hit your back buttons. If you absolutely have to keep going, you're going to regret not hitting that back button three-quarters of the way through. If you read all the way to end and get mad, and tell me it's squicky, then please also share something in your review that you weren't already warned about. :)
Also, this -In italics- indicates Kai's POV interrupting Bonnie's. Happens at the last section. Just to clear up any confusion.
Also to my anonymous reviewer who thinks he/she is badgering me about updates. I wanted to get this out before the end of March, just for you. You're awesome. Thanks so much for the love.
Chapter 12
SNAFU
The lake house was over two thousand square feet large, open and airy and with minimal furniture. When she was younger, Elena used to find it scary, especially those summer nights when Jeremy woke her up and they snuck downstairs to watch zombie movies and eat s'mores while mom and dad were upstairs sleeping. Back then, she'd turned nervous looks over her shoulder, expecting rotting corpses trailing down the stairs to find her and her brother, and eat their brains. Back then, the wooden cabin retreat had felt huge and dark and foreign, and she'd often wanted to run away, back to the safety of her real home in Mystic Falls.
"Little girl."
No zombie stared back now, but she wanted to glance nervously over her shoulder, the sense of being attacked from behind overwhelming. Elena wished desperately for that long ago zombie. Even going for her brains, it wouldn't be anywhere close to being as terrifying as the creature that faced her now, capable of summoning who knew what.
"You're going to tell me where my granddaughter is."
The cabin had never felt so small, or suffocating. It wasn't the addition of furniture or decorations over the years, either. Nothing much had changed here, since she was younger.
It was only the woman standing near the fireplace now, idly picking through the smoking embers with the iron poker. Whose bright idea had it been to let a witch get close enough to play with the damn fire?
Flames bathed the older woman's face, turning hooded features eerie. Outside came the gust of wind, rattling the walls and doing much the same inside Elena's ribs. She'd never been so frightened of anyone. A lot of it had to do with how heavy her bones had gotten, as soon as Bonnie's grandmother set foot inside to disrupt their pizza dinner.
As if Elena's body had decided, on its own, that it no longer needed to work.
She chased off the surge of panic and fear trying to come out of the back of her throat. Vomiting now wouldn't be smart. She still looked like Bonnie, she could play this off. She swallowed bile as she tried to laugh.
"Grams," she said, her hand twitching. She wanted to tuck her hair behind her ears, a nervous tic. But her fingers would barely move, much less her arm. It was enough just getting the words out, without her mouth feeling like cotton had been shoved inside. "It's me. I'm right here."
A ghost of a smile flickered over Sheila Bennett's face. More flames erupted out from the fireplace. Beside her, Caroline, also stuck in place in her chair, let out a whimper.
"Uh-oh," the blonde whispered.
Next to her, Elena found Matt sitting equally helplessly, unmoving but for the wooden stare he cast up at the older woman. The way his features worked, he was fighting anger, but something else, too-betrayal, Elena realized. Because Grams was here, submitting their willpower to hers in a way outside of normal human bonds. Grams, the cute old lady who made the best pasta and let her and Caroline paint her nails when they were back in third grade. Who was also a grade-A witch, turned out, as capable of feats of terrifying power as the vampires trapped in the tomb, or Damon Salvatore. And she didn't need crows, or fangs, or abnormal speed and strength. No, she only had to think of something, for it to happen.
"Okay," Caroline said. "We have a really, really good explanation for this, if you could just calm down for a sec..."
Caroline trailed off, Elena suspected because she was struggling to find that really good explanation for their formerly predictable best friend's sudden departure from Mystic Falls, probably in the company of some total stranger that only Caroline had met, for maybe...five seconds...
What had they all been thinking? Elena fought to tame a grimace as she looked at Sheila's face. Almost like the old lady guessed her thoughts, the witch's expression grew dark. The fireplace behind the old lady cast off an unholy glow as she slowly stepped near.
Where are you, come on, Elena urged.
The breeze came right before the swoosh in her ears, like it always did. Then her hair brushed across her face, and she felt cool, strong arms enfold her. She'd always hated the cold, but a half year of knowing Stefan had changed her mind.
Now she found comfort in the contrast of his chilled skin and soft shirts.
She especially welcomed it now, as he dropped a concerned look into her face, his brown eyes quick to note her other friends in a similar predicament to her, and the woman who stood in the center of the room, eyeing Stefan with a curl of her lip. He straightened, stepping cautiously forward. The irony wasn't lost on Elena, this faceoff between her boyfriend and her best friend's grandmother, one a creature of ice and the other of fire.
"I'm not sure what I'm walking in on," he said in that low, serious tone, meant to pacify usually, but Elena didn't think it would work here. "But whatever it is, the Sheila Bennett I know wouldn't resort to harming innocent kids."
"You think you know me? That's mighty presumptuous."
Elena had never witnessed Stefan at odds with anyone but another vampire. She remembered the times she'd seen Bonnie close her eyes and the world tilted at her command, with just a few words. Witches could bleed, sure, a lot easier than vampires, but only if you got close enough to touch them. Sheila Bennett didn't look like a witch who would be an easy target.
And plus, she didn't want Bonnie's grandmother to bleed. But she sure as hell wasn't going to let Stefan die.
"Please, Grams," she pleaded. "I'm sorry, okay? We made a mistake. Stefan's here to help. Not fight you. Bonnie...we can call her. You'll see. She's okay."
But that plea didn't work at all. If anything, instead of calming her, the older woman's jaw turned more rigid.
"You were always the gullible one, Elena. And you have no clue what you're talking about. Bonnie's going to get herself killed."
-oOoOo-
Several hours after fleeing Portland, Bonnie was fairly sure she was headed towards certain doom.
But at least, a tiny part of her mind reasoned, it's a nice night.
The headset Kai had made her wear kept her from hearing him well, as he piloted the small plane. The endless din of the engine, the exhaust, the propeller, and all the other things that kept them thousands of miles above land meant she could stay quiet and just look around. Nothing but a few short inches of metal separated her flesh-and-bone body from the expanse of star-lit, ink-dark skies. When she chanced a look down, what met her were patchy, gauzy layers of clouds below the jet-and a rapid descent to her death.
The world of lights growing smaller under her feet had started this round of stressing. Now that she could see nothing of it, that stress had grown exponentially. What made it worse was how she'd waited, swallowing down her objections to the entire thing since it became clear to her that getting them out of Portland would have to be mostly the Kai Parker show.
She gnawed her lip now in between glaring at him, as he pursed his lips into a whistle.
At least one of them was enjoying this.
She couldn't even nap, and buoy her fear that they would crash by imagining maybe she'd be snoring through it, and die in her sleep. Who could sleep through that, anyway? On the other hand, maybe a crash was the way to go. Considering they now had members of the Gemini coven hot on their heels. Or so she suspected, though Kai seemed a little lax about personal security, after sending out a magical scan and turning up empty.
She'd memorized the incantation. Once they landed, she would use that spell herself to make sure he hadn't missed anything.
Twenty minutes later of lip-biting and hand-wringing, the plane dipped and sent her belly into somersaults, before it evened out. Kai pressed a button and released the controls, as the plane coasted along. One of his hands found hers and squeezed. Her aggravation mounted watching him laugh, his gaze too full of amusement at the expense of her nerves. Without thought her fist went out to punch him. It caught him square in the face and knocked his head back.
"Urgh!"
He reached up with his other hand, patting the bridge of his nose.
"Not the reaction I imagined," he said, his voice carrying a lot better in the sudden lack of noise. He hadn't bothered wearing a headset, and reached over now to take hers off. She slapped his hands away, glowering as she snatched them off herself.
"We stole a plane, Kai!"
"Borrowed it," he said gamely. "With permission, even."
"Because you spelled the owner into being your personal zombie," she seethed. "Which means...we also stole a person. Abduction. Kind of a felony."
"Probably class five," he agreed cheerfully. "But how was I gonna get the keys, the passcodes, and security clearance? His cooperation was needed for that." His scoffing, shaking head was dismissive. "I thought you were smart."
She pointed to the man tied up in the back of the small jet. The near-total stranger was still unconscious, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.
"How are we going to explain that when we land?"
"Relax. You don't really think I'm carting his dead weight around like that? Hello, I am all about protecting my back. I've only got the one. When the sleeping spell wears off, he'll be our personal manservant again. I'll put him on standby once we land at the FBO."
"Kai, you can't...people aren't your toys-"
In frustration, she drew short her sentence to turn to the window. They weren't in a car, and the wide stretch of night sky at her fingertips meant she couldn't exactly kick her door open and throw herself out. But oh, God. This boy would drive her to murder.
"I know, you're right. But sometimes, Bonnie? They can be tools."
He grinned when she looked back at him.
"In more ways than one."
"I wish those two Geminis had caught you."
"I'm teaching you so much, Bon. I know you really want to say 'thank you, Kai. I've never been so enlightened and turned on at the same time. So glad you made it out of that diner in tip-top shape.' And to that, I say: Aww, you're welcome."
He snatched her wrist, tugging and bringing their faces close. Gone was the playful light in his gray eyes. They'd turned dark, eaten up by his black pupils.
"Where's all this coming from, hmm? You were hunky-dory letting me lead the escape plan, which might I mention was pretty damn inspired. No objections when we walked into that private airport and I scouted for our getaway ride. So what's got your panties in a bunch, Bonster?" He tossed his head back at the unconscious man. "Douchebag back there was on the phone for ten minutes letting the entire lobby overhear how his portfolio increased by twenty percent in the time it took him to fly from Napa Valley to Portland. Then he gave the waiter stank 'tude over the limited choice of drinks. Come on. Do you really feel that bad for him?"
His voice had dropped, erasing a lot of the bite from his mini tirade. His mouth was too near. She wasn't looking at it, but his gaze had dropped to her own and damn if that didn't make her want to lick her lips a little. And then lick his, too.
She mushed his face away.
"You said we were only going to Portland."
"Ah-ah-ah. I don't recall ever saying that."
"Fine, what about the glamour you said you'd use so nobody would recognize you when we went back to your neighborhood. What happened to that?"
He shrugged. "I lied. Kinda need them to know I'm back, Bonnie. Have to get the pieces on the board at some point, you know. There's only so much a locator spell can do. And Google. Hooo boy." He chuckled. "You do not wanna know the type of results that hit'cha when you type in 'secret witch coven members.' You think I'm unstable, you need to see some of these jumblers."
"Tumblr," she grumbled.
"Oh, you blog?" he asked, face lighting up.
She facepalmed.
"Hey, chill, I won't judge."
"Who found you? Were they elders?"
"Nope. Pups, really, back in 1994 the last time I saw them. I kinda sorta messed around with their older sister. Totally mutual, by the way, because I can be a fun guy, Bonnie. But the parental units didn't approve." He clucked in disappointment. "They're two of the elders on my shit list, as it happens."
"Because they cared enough about their daughter to cut ties with her Norman Bates boyfriend?"
"Ouch. Can I just set the record straight? I don't have a mommy fixation so Norman's not apt."
"When it comes to being stabby and creepy, sure it is."
"I used a bat, too. And electrical wire. When you're creative and resourceful enough, pretty much every day household things can be dangerous if used in the right way. MacGyver's a better comparison. If he was more okay with murder."
She rolled her eyes.
"And no, to get back to the topic. My ex's parents just happened to be part of the group of elders that helped my dad trap me in that forest, a decade and a half ago when you were still in diapers. Once, I caught them telling my dad that Jo was as dangerous and unnecessary to have around as me."
At that, she stared. What the hell kind of coven were the Geminis?
"I have a compelling reason to wish them a painful, excruciating death. In other words, quit talking out of your curvaceous ass, Bon."
She seethed internally some more, quelling another urge to look at him when he used that deep, teasing voice that now inspired the worst reactions in her. When she got back home, she was going to call Scott and ask him out on a date.
"Who's in St. Augustine?" she asked.
"My second most favorite person in the world."
Her brain whirled, arriving at one or two possibilities, then she stopped, scrunching up her face.
"How does a sociopath have a list of favorite people, period? Unless you mean favorite people to maim or stab."
Oddly, he didn't meet her eyes as he fiddled with the instrument panel. "It's a short list. Only two names."
Her next question was, who's your first most favorite? But her mouth stayed shut, as she too glanced away, back at the window. It crossed her mind to also wonder what he had planned for his second favorite person, but her brain surprised her with a lack of worry. Somehow, she just knew he wasn't flying them over to do harm. Or maybe she was fooling herself. Because a smile was threatening to escape, as she considered that the only other person to make his list would've topped it, and as stupid as it was to expect that her name was anywhere on it-she still remembered in vivid detail his own fresh memories of rolling around a queen sized bed with a leggy, busty and very naked redhead-Bonnie almost smiled anyway.
As the jet continued cruising, Kai's other hand stayed on one of her own, his finger tracing absently along the side of her wrist, in random patterns that scattered her thoughts to the barely-there clouds that surrounded their getaway ride.
-oOoOo-
The FBO they touched down on was a short drive from city limits. In almost sixteen years of time in a world devoid of a pulse, Kai had on occasion sought out a substitute for cheer by holing up in sunny Florida. The highs had never lasted long, mostly because without the annoying tourists flooding Orlando, or the eclectic beat of Miami natives, or the friendly beach babes in Clearwater-there was little else to recommend a state overrun with strip malls and swampland. But St. Augustine...Kai had never been there, and so on his first pass into its downtown area, the scattered corral of cobblestone streets and old historic houses fronted with a view of the Atlantic on its east gave him a pleasant little surprise.
Only, this wasn't a sightseeing trip. He had a lot on his plate at the moment, not the least of which was contemplating the appropriate disposal of certain members of his coven, such as the pair he'd run into at the bar in Portland whose welcome back greetings had been lacking in hospitality. But that figured lower on his list. Now that he'd drawn out his coven, letting them stumble into finding out that the big, bad wolf was back to blow their house down, using a modified cloaking spell on himself and Bonnie would be the smart move. And he would've done it himself hours ago, but he wanted to cast the spell with her.
Waiting around for a certain someone's shift to end didn't have to be such a chore, after all. Here in the nation's oldest city, there didn't seem to be a lack of things to do—museums and shops and riverside dining. But mostly, what he really wanted to do involved people-no, one person.
Bonnie.
He was ready to do her. Beyond the fuck ready. It didn't matter anymore, all of the dumb objections his new coat of good-guy armor kept offering. Deep down, he was still Malachai Parker, and months of sitting around debating the ethics of entertaining boners over the thought of his not-quite-legal savior no longer made any sense, in the grand scheme of things and on general principle. Having killed his kid siblings, what the fuck was he doing letting a little thing like two something years shy of Bonnie reaching the voting age get in the way of their fun? She'd lived through enough of a shit show in her town to scare off grown-ups twice her age. She wasn't a damn kid. More to the point, her own ancestor Emily had practically sanctioned this. Hell, Sheila bitchass Bennett herself had written the script, albeit with a totally demented hand that had no clue what it was unleashing.
Bonnie the fledgling witch was finally going to get her broomstick to ride-
"Hello, you put his stuff in the wrong room."
The impatient huff which followed that statement jarred Kai out of his thoughts. He frowned as Bonnie lifted the large duffel he'd just placed inside the hotel room, then 'oofed' out an unprepared breath when she shoved it against his chest.
"Take care of your guest, Kai."
"What're you talking about? It goes here."
"No, it goes where he goes."
She nodded out to the man staring blankly at them as he stood on the corridor. Bonnie stalked up to the mindjacked pilot and led him firmly into the neighboring room, then closed the door behind her before stepping quickly back inside, relief and something smug across her face. He suspected she would try to kick him out next, to go the way of the baggage and their hostage. Not for the first time, Kai wondered just why he'd let her bulldoze over his plans to keep the man in limbo back in the sleeping quarters at the FBO. But Miss Bleeding Heart had kept insisting not to leave their hostage alone, in case he snapped out of his mystical mental fog. The implication being that Kai's spell would malfunction, somehow. As if.
"This is where he goes," he said, waving his hand around the spare walls. "This is his room. You just put him in ours."
She sputtered a laugh. "Ours? Ummm. Lemme think. Yea, no."
Kai was ready for this. He had a convincing argument and all, had rehearsed it in his head enough times.
"Look, it makes sense for us to be the bunk buddies. We need to work on a few spells."
"Fine, but why do we need to sleep together?"
He stared down at her, feeling his nostrils flaring out at her choice of words. He knew what she'd meant, and she knew he knew it, too, but they both also knew how little it took these days to turn any innocent statement into innuendo. And that sentence, unfortunately, was about as innocent as a hooker in a white dress.
Kai failed to tame a smirk. Bonnie's reaction enthralled him, twin faint flushes floating across her cheeks. His eye twitched. The door behind her closed softly on its own as he stepped nearer and tilted his face down to hers to let his breath graze her skin.
"Why don't we?"
She was young, but also her. It came as no shock to him that even with the flustered blush on her face and the gleam of alarm that failed to stay hidden in her eyes, her chin jutted up with determination. Her gaze met his with more than a hint of matching hunger. It was enough to bring his hand up, for the tip of his finger to finally land on the mouth that he'd spent an embarrassing few thousand hours contemplating, in his waking moments and amidst fitful sleep.
Under his touch, they quivered, her lips parting to let his finger glide over silky, moist plumpness. She kept staring. He couldn't break contact with her eyes, or help the thought that it'd be the easiest thing in the world to bend a little more down and let his mouth take over. It took hold, kept him entranced, as he moved to make the fantasy real. He caught her gasp on his mouth a hair's fraction away from hers, and then-
BZZZZZZ!
BZZZZZZ!
Green, heavy-lidded eyes turned wide and blinking, and then before his brain could catch up-Bonnie scurried away, clearing her throat to answer her phone.
"H-hey, Care."
Her voice was hoarse, low. Whiskeyed tones, would've been more apt, except she was an underage cheerleader-slash-lifeguard-slash-AP-student and not too acquainted with hard liquor going by his memories of her drinks of choice-the girly martinis and occasional keg brews from the last few trips clubbing and housepartying with her friends. Sure, it'd been a few months since she'd done anything like it, but her taste couldn't have changed that drastically. All Kai knew was that gravelly tone was important. Usually signaling arousal, if his own experience could be trusted. He knew if he tried to talk now, it'd probably sound more like a growl. Of the frustrated, blue-balled variety since he hadn't had sex with a woman in roughly two weeks. It'd been even longer than that since the last time he'd gotten off without needing Bonnie's face and voice Inside his head, to replace the random woman writhing with him.
If all this pushed the envelope from disturbed sociopathy into disturbed sociopathic pervdom, what could he do? Granted, he'd always been the type to act contrary to everyone's expectations for the most part, but never actually delving into being perverted. He'd cared too little about sex except as a basic physiological need, back in the day when episodes of being a horny teenager interfered with his lofty ambitions of taking over the coven.
Even now, catering to his growing obsession with Bonnie was too much. He knew it. There were other things that needed doing, things his rational mind kept coming back to, but fuck, he just wanted her. That was all. Or everything. And not necessarily about his smaller, lower brain at work, either. The way he wanted her irked-all-encompassing, beyond just meeting basic physiological needs. His hands itched to touch her, his ears perked just hearing her voice, and this low-level buzz filled him up with what his brain could only mark with disgust as...warm and cozy goo...anytime he talked and she was there to listen.
Bonnie was a good listener sometimes-and why the hell that mattered terrified him a little.
Fuck. There was something wrong with him.
"Caroline, slow down. What're you say-"
She was cut off, her face sinking into a frown. Watching her, he sagged against the wall, tightness across his shoulders and back and groin mingling in awful ways that made him want to find a bat and someone's face to swing into. As much as he loved having magic at his beck and call, nothing beat using the hands that nature gave you for a good, old fashioned beating.
"Oh, no."
At her whisper, her eyes found his across the room. The regular zing of awareness jolted him, watching her approach. When she was close enough to touch, he gave into it, tucking her hair out of the way as the pad of his thumb found her cheek and traced a line down to her jaw.
She swatted his hand away, putting her phone on speaker.
"I'm sorry you can't understand your friend, Bonnie."
An older woman's voice filled the room. Instantly his heated blood went cold. Sight unseen, a layer of gloom nearly killed all the wicked intentions he'd just been entertaining towards Bonnie.
Her fucking granny was on the phone.
"Oh, God," Bonnie muttered, closing her eyes in dismay.
"Not exactly, child. Just me."
"Grams-"
"Bonnie Sheila Bennett." The deep, prolonged sigh on the other end of the line reverberated across the walls of the small room. Very dramatic, and threatening, meant to intimidate. If he squinted, he could almost see Bonnie quaking in her shoes.
Kai smiled, then drew her in, wrapping his hands around her waist.
"Are you alone?" asked her grandmother.
Bonnie angled her gaze up to his, varying expressions flashing across the small-heart shaped face. Most of them were too quick to name, but he placed one as confused, the other as resolved, and waited with a quirk of his brow. She'd let him lead them out of Portland and onto the next leg of their journey. Now was a good time to return the favor.
"You're in the captain's seat," he whispered against her ear, nuzzling her skin and indulging in another smirk when she shivered, but didn't pull away.
"I'm alone," Bonnie said shakily into the phone. "I'll be home soon."
"You will," came her grandmother's unyielding answer. "Because I'm going to find you."
"Grams-"
"You're lying to me, child. Do you have any idea what you're doing? The kind of danger you're in?"
"I'm fine. Quit treating me like a-"
"What, a kid? Bonnie, you basically ran away from home. How else am I supposed-"
"I'm a witch. Taking care of witch business. Guess who that sounds like, hmm?"
"You don't sound like yourself, child. And I know you're not alone."
"Oh, fine. Whatever. You know everything. You know best. Especially when it comes to me, right? I mean, you kept me in the dark about my powers. You went behind my back to link my life to another dimension. Did I get mad? Not really. And now you're throwing a fit that I took a page out of your book? Maybe you need to stop acting like Dad and actually stick around long enough to talk to me."
Her furrowed brow wavered, as if Bonnie had abruptly switched places and heard her own rant, and now wanted to check herself. Kai hoped she didn't. That was the maddest he'd ever seen her, where he wasn't on the receiving end. In his experience, venting equaled good times. And Bonnie Bennett was in sore need of those.
"I'm sorry, Grams. Just-don't come after me. Promise I'll see you soon."
She didn't hang up, and neither did the woman on the other end. Instead, quiet reigned for long beats where Kai wondered if it'd be the right time to steal a kiss from Bonnie. He was proud of her, standing up to her grandmother. She was really coming along with growing that backbone.
"I'm at the lake house. Your friends have been talking enough for all of us."
He felt her tense, his fingers automatically tightening along her form as she erupted into movement. When he moved to keep her in place, she twisted away from his grasp, glaring at the phone. Soon smoke rose out of its corners, wafting into the air between them.
"What's that mean?" Bonnie demanded. "Did you hex them or something?"
"Now why would I need to do that? Maybe they're as worried about you as I am."
"Know what? I'm glad they're spilling. Am I on speaker? Elena, Care, did you fill her in about our vampire problem? Ya know, the one that we kids haven't been able to fix yet. Maybe you can finally help a little with that, Grams."
"Bonnie-"
The phone exploded. Kai shielded his eyes from the debris and scattered ashes that flew out, but it served nothing. The remains of her cellphone rained down onto the carpet, him, and Bonnie, coating them in bits of melted dark powdery plastic and metal. Through mutually dusted lashes, they stared at each other.
He started chuckling. Her look grew stony.
"Shut. Up. Kai."
She stormed out, into the cool night air.
"Aw, c'mon. It's a little funny." Lazily, he sauntered out to follow her as she stalked along the corridor. "Hey, where ya going?"
"To clean myself off."
"Right, well the shower's that way, inside the room."
She paused, tossing a look over her shoulder. He almost fell over his own feet, catching her eyes. They oozed spite.
"There's a pool. I'm going for a swim. Use the shower if you want." She shrugged. "Or join me. I don't care."
-oOoOo-
A random devil had seized hold of her. She knew it because she waded in the emerald pool, shirtless and jeansless, while Kai lounged on one of the folded chairs nearby and burned a hole through the back of her bra as she splashed water on her face. He had yet to take her up on her offer to join in earlier, which felt like another small rejection, and while she played it cool it was clear by the way her insides stung…she did sort of care.
Bonnie wanted to extend the invitation again, but a voice inside her head that sounded too much like Caroline urged her to stay quiet and just rub her arms and shoulders. Slowly, with droplets of water that trailed her skin in what she hoped was an appealing way. Like in those dumb movies where the girl managed to seduce the hot older guy.
It was a point of pride for her. She needed at least one person in the category of legal adult to see her as capable. She had done so much in the last couple months with her magic. If nothing else, she could at least use Kai as a distraction from the black mood that had settled over her in the wake of her phone call with Grams. Also from the fact that here she was, swimming in the hotel pool like a really late spring breaker, up to no good, while two floors up was a complete stranger, ensnared by magic into loaning her and Kai his small jet.
What if he had kids? Bonnie had already noted the lack of a ring on his finger, but it didn't mean he wasn't a dad. Maybe he'd missed tucking them in tonight. Maybe even now a couple of toddlers were wondering about their dad...
Except there were no pictures of kids in his wallet that she'd seen, when she'd scoured earlier, to satisfy the chafing against her conscience. Plus he carried himself like the type of guy who didn't make time for kids. As opposed, she reflected with a hint of resentment, to her own dad, who didn't have time for her but gave everyone the impression of being the world's most conscientious papa. His wallet still held pictures of her from years back, gap-toothed after losing a few baby teeth. And his phone was filled with alarms of her trophy ceremonies in school, that he scheduled into his calendar but somehow never managed to attend. Her dad was the type to try, on paper.
This guy they'd held hostage...not so much. He probably only answered to himself. Judging from the call he'd been on back at the private Portland airstrip lobby, his most prized possession in life was his portfolio. And who could really blame him, when it meant having the means to fly his own damn plane.
It made their acts no less criminal, but she felt a little better anyway. Lucky thing she hadn't tossed that tidbit in to spite Grams at the end of the call. She'd almost done it, but turned back at the last moment. Grams was tight with Sheriff Forbes, who had a hefty network of police friends. A phone call would be all it took to track them down this way, if Grams got wind of their hostage. It wouldn't take much to trace them.
And right now, Bonnie thought idly, I don't wanna be found.
"Sooo," came the annoying chirpy tone. "Still pissed at the world? Wanna talk about it?"
"No."
"Thank God. Would hate for the rest of the night turn into an episode of Blossom. Personally, I really never understood the hype with that show."
Irked and because he brought it out of her, she flipped him the finger. Then pretended he wasn't there, as she floated herself on her back, staring up at the night sky. It was hours before dawn. She was at the point of sleep-deprived that it no longer felt necessary.
"Speaking of pissed at the world," she said. "Did you ever have moments when you didn't hate being stuck in 1994?"
"Sure."
The rapid reply was easy, a sniper bullet tearing into the calm she'd tried to wrap herself in. She fought not to flounder in the water, and managed to stay afloat on her back only by focusing on her curiosity.
"For how long?"
"A couple days, usually. A week at most. I'd go on these nifty benders, or pretend I was a Destructicon. I destroyed Tokyo once. Took me forever, but the payoff was totally worth it."
She mulled over that and the conspiratorial glee in his voice. Never mind that she didn't know exactly what the hell a destructicon was, but it sounded like something that suited Kai. And it sounded-fun.
"I kind of want to go back there," she said hesitantly. "For a little bit."
He said nothing.
"For me," she added. "Not to toss you back in jail or anything. I just...think it'd be nice. Being alone. Not having-"
"Anyone be the boss of you? Like your overbearing granny and the negligent papa bear?"
"Or people to dig up from shallow graves. Or friends to save from rapey vampires."
"Mmm. Yeah. Kinda see your point."
That one unsettled her, how he did understand. Before, it wouldn't have mattered to him. Her body spasmed over the water, bringing her out of floating.
"Thing is," he added. "That kind of complacency never lasted long, Bonnie. See, as much as I can't stand other people, I still need them around. Double goes for you. You'd go nuts. I call six months, tops, before you'd go bonkers and try to kill yourself from sheer boredom. Or loneliness. Take your pick."
She peered across the dim light, meeting his eyes intent on her.
"I could never go back now," he said softly. "I wouldn't last a month."
"Why? You made it sixteen years before. Selling yourself short, Kai."
"I only missed things before."
She couldn't even begin to fathom that. "You didn't miss anyone? Not even your twin?"
He shrugged. "Betrayal does that, ya know. Not like there was a huge well of affection left to draw from."
"What makes it any different now?"
His answering smile was fleet. A little doubtful, as he looked away quickly, then back to her again. He only shrugged.
"What if you had company?"
"You offering?"
She almost said yes. And that she would miss him, too.
"Truth, Bonnie? In terms of overbearing, you could do a lot worse than your grandmother. Not that I'm her biggest fan," he added, crossing his feet at the ankles when she swam up, tucking her forearm one on top of the other, then her chin above it all as she leaned on the edge of the concrete to study his face as he went on. "But at least she was looking out for you. Just her bad luck she went to the wrong person for help."
"What're you talking about?"
For a self-described stone-cold killer, he sure did have expressive moments. Like now. The way his lids turned heavy, as his deep sigh morphed into a snort of disgust, that turned quickly into low chuckles. The mercurial change set her on edge again as she waited. A familiar sharpness spliced her insides. She wouldn't like this, whatever he had to say. His jaw worked. Oh, no. She wouldn't like it at all.
"What do you know, Kai?"
He kept his gaze averted towards the sky, as his feet swung up and down in rhythm for long, quiet moments.
"I worked it out awhile back, right after Sheila confessed her big booboo to you. The kind of magic she needed for a spell bridging dimensions? It would take an entire coven. Or someone who wielded the collective power of one."
Her jaw loosened, almost went slack processing his words. He didn't mean-there was no way her grandmother had asked—
"My dad, Bonnie. Joshua Parker, mighty Gemini leader. D-bag supremo. We can thank him for adding this little Vulcan mindmeld of ours into your grandmother's plan to save you and keep the Bennett line from going extinct."
"But why would he…"
She trailed off, failing to understand what was in it for the Gemini ruler. Even if he wanted a softer, kinder version of Kai it didn't change that he was still a siphoner. Something the coven would never allow in a future leader. And anyway, Joshua Parker had spare heirs to carry on his name and coven.
"Yep. I can tell what you're thinking. And nope. I, uh, can't make heads or tails of it yet. But it won't be long. I was always the only kid of his capable of jumping through his mental hoops." He smiled tightly. "My dad, the prankster."
"Do you think he knows you're out?"
"Probably. Damn parents. Eyes in the back of their head. I'll have fun poking his out."
Bonnie dismissed that, chewing on other thoughts. It didn't sound urgent, anyway, whenever it was he got around to doing that to his dad.
"Guess we've got a lot in common, huh? We're both witches. Hot. Smart. Maybe me more than you a little on that last one. Also burdened with sneaky geriatric relatives. Must be why we're such pals."
She broke into laughter, despite herself unable to help the wave of something fond, deep in her gut and twisting this way and that, while she rolled her eyes at him.
"She's telling the truth, you know."
"Who?"
"Granny B. You're headed to an early grave, at the rate you're going. That's a little something I have working knowledge on, by the way. As many times as I killed myself in the prison world, I got plenty of exposure to that whole 'go into the light' thing everyone keeps talking about." He frowned. "Sometimes it wasn't light."
"Pitched fork and a pair of horns waving for you to join the other party?"
"Ha. No. Try an empty space, and me deaf, dumb, and blind. And things crawling over my skin, trying to tell me something. Like they talk through touch."
He'd slowly sat up as he talked, and now hunched forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he glowered at his hands, lost in thought.
"Hard to place most of them clearly, but the very last time I died in the prison world-you were there, remember? I went somewhere else. Not so empty, that one. Too many things trying to brand me. I haven't forgotten that."
"What were they?"
His face started falling into that look of exasperation that told her he was impatient with her questions, that she was asking the wrong ones. She thought of her grandmother, and what she'd confessed about the spell that tied Bonnie from this world, and through a loophole, into Kai's.
"You were on the ancestral plane. They were the spirits."
His face cleared in approval.
"Not my usual ones," he said. "They weren't so much creepy-crawling messages on my skin as they were...burning me. Giving me a little taste of what taking a running leap into the sun might feel like."
She frowned, trying to follow.
"Somehow, probably because of you skipping around my prison world, I took a detour into your ancestral plane. Not the Gemini one."
She rose further out of the water, ready to jump out and almost tackle him. She'd read enough about the spirits to know it took serious mojo connecting with them in any way, and vice versa. Whatever they had been trying to communicate to Kai-
"Do you remember their message?"
This time, he stayed mum.
She flung water at him, propelling it higher with a quick spell so it arched out enough to reach his face. He sputtered.
"Gah! Come on, Bonnie!"
"What did they say, Kai?" she demanded, swinging more water out, in a wild arc that sloshed his clothes.
"Argh, fine!" He motused her back, towards the middle of the pool. Her body glided through water, away from him. He stood, an angry smile in place as he watched her involuntary retreat. "Something about finding your peace! There! You probably will die. Soon. Happy now?"
Goosebumps followed the trail of water along her neck and shoulders. Unsure if that was the cold or Kai's words or his abruptly searing gaze, she whirled away, closing her eyes to let the magic simmering beneath her skin filter out. The cool water bubbled, mist rising from the surface as she let the temperature rise, quickly. The rush of heat had her gasping, pleasure dipping from her stomach down to her toes. It didn't matter what he said. She was alive-here-now. He was probably wrong, anyway.
She heard a scrape and turned. Kai's eyes glinted as he approached, kicking chairs out of his way, toeing off his shoes and socks carelessly.
"You turned the pool into an oversized hot tub," came the low, saccharine drawl. "What kind of an idiot passes that up?"
She sank deeper under the water, keeping herself submerged up to her mouth. It was better this way. She didn't have to say anything, as he gazed down.
"Bonnie."
The water was so clear, she could see all the way down to her feet. His eyes swept her from head to toes, then lingered on her chest. Her bra was thin cotton, unpadded, giving him an unobstructed view of her stiff nipples. But that was from the cold, she reasoned. Nothing else.
"I'm coming in."
Bad idea yes please do what you want.
She sank all the way down and dove for the deepest part of the pool. As she weaved underwater, the muffled sound of a crash reached her. On instinct she picked up her pace, pushing against the water with her legs as she glanced behind.
Kai was right there, diving after her, still dressed in all his clothes.
Laughter escaped her, breaking the water into bubbles before her face. She swam away, twisting out of his reach when he was suddenly too near.
She hadn't been a lifeguard for nothing.
The pool wasn't big enough to keep up the chase long. She used long strokes to glide to the other end, closing her eyes as she used the currents to lead her along. When she neared the edge of the pool she swept her body up, arcing herself to meet the surface.
A hand grabbed her leg, encasing her ankles. She opened her eyes and gasped, forgetting to hold her breath. Long, muscled arms turned her. She would have choked, but then a mouth closed over hers, and she breathed in deeply, taking in oxygen from Kai. His eyes were open, his face so near she could see his lashes flutter as he pulled her nearer.
Her hand found his neck, and wrapped there slowly, to match her legs tangling around his waist. They still shared the same breath, as he swam their bodies to the surface. Steam rose from the bubbling water, cloaking the entire area in mist.
When she pulled back, his eyes remained locked onto her face as he used one arm to keep them tethered to the edge of the pool.
"Still need that rescue breath?" he asked in a hoarse whisper.
She shook her head slowly.
"Sure about that?"
She nodded.
His grip tightened, as he dropped his head to rest against hers. She responded by squeezing her legs further around his hips. Something like a rock jutted into her ass. She squirmed into it.
"Bonnie," he breathed. "What're we doing?"
"Acts of felony."
He barked out a choked laugh.
"I'm not on the up and up with Florida. Are they more lenient here?"
"With?"
"You're not even sixteen."
She scraped her nails along the back of his neck, burrowing into his hair, smiling a little when he groaned and leaned into her hand, letting her fingers dig deeper. Of course he'd like that.
"Do you care?" she probed.
He scoffed, pressing a palm against her torso and sliding it up to brush the swell of her breast under her bra. His hand was large, spanning much of her abdomen as he rested it there and his thumb made its now familiar dance across her skin.
"I shouldn't," he muttered. "Wish I didn't."
He didn't know how glad she was to hear that.
"You forgot to take your clothes off, Kai."
"No, I just couldn't wait, Bonnie."
She grabbed his chin to draw him closer, closing her eyes when their mouths met.
His hands tangled in her hair. They drifted back under the water, pushing into each other's bodies as they moved backwards to rest against the pool tiles. Her back hit the wall as he placed a hand against it, driving his hips against hers so his erection kept hitting the crotch of her panties. When she moaned, his mouth swallowed it up.
They could drown here. Anyone could see them. Upstairs was their hostage. If they got caught, shit would hit the fan, and still...she let Kai maintain his hold on her, while her hands landed on his chest. His shirt weaved in the water under her touch, so she slipped them under and found his bare, hard skin. His fingers on her waist clamped harder. Magic bubbled between them. The water responded.
It shouldn't have been possible, but their bodies fought against the pull of gravity. A tide of giddy dizziness in her head matched the roaring in her ears. When she opened her eyes, Kai enveloped her field of vision. He'd taken her face in both his hands as he plundered her mouth. Caught up in the taste of him, she almost missed the way they were near the surface again, even though they hadn't moved.
Soon, their heads broke the surface, while their mouths stayed fused.
"Kai-" she gasped, breaking their kiss. Her legs untangled from his hips.
"Mmf," he grunted, wrapping them back around, squeezing her ankles in his warm hand. "I got it. Quit worrying."
She sighed into another kiss, moaning again when his teeth bit her bottom lip, chiding.
They hadn't risen to the surface, she realized dimly. Their feet were now on the bottom of the pool, as water poured out of the drain in a rush while evaporating around their heads. Kai's tongue swept her mouth, while she used her own to explore. He tasted of coffee and mint chocolate. Had he done that on purpose, expecting to play tonsil hockey with her tonight? But how could he? She'd instigated this.
His hands urged more pressingly on her skin, drifted to her nipples. He pinched them, hard. Her mouth dropped in shock. He used the moment to delve deeper with his tongue, chuckling so that it vibrated against her throat. Then his hand casually flicked her panties aside, right where warm squirmy tightness reigned over her thoughts, and left her heedless of witnesses. But in the thickened fog settling over their heads, she knew being spotted was a long shot.
Kai's finger tapped against her mound.
She stilled, pulling away from the kiss. The most she'd let any other boy go was to play with her breasts, although a few had tried to reach third base. But the only hand that had gotten to know her clit was her own. She grew wetter, watching Kai staring back, his eyes hooded as he slid one long finger inside her.
"Didja know the water matches your eyes?" he asked, tilting his head to study her.
He pumped her languidly, crooking his finger just a little.
Her eyes drifted close, but he stopped them with a harsh kiss, demanding as he sucked on her mouth. "Keep 'em open."
The water was down to the level of their knees now, as they stayed pressed against the pool tile. His hips kept her pinned to the wall, one hand squeezed beneath her ass as his other sank deeper between her legs, when he used a second finger to help stretch her out.
"Oh," she breathed.
"Emerald pools," he ground out, pushing with his hips as he lowered his face against her neck.
She wished he would shut up, but naturally he only leaned in and whispered her name against her ear, over and over, almost like a chant. Then he drove his fingers inside her in a rapid, steady rhythm, and one bumped against this knot, deep inside, robbing her of breath. Her vision went spotty, her stomach tightening with unbearable anticipation.
"Please, just-" she stopped, hazy-brained as her hand tugged on his hair, harsh and wild and lolling his head back. "I-don't-"
"Know what I see in those pools," he whispered, pulling free from her hold to nip under her ear, right before he drew back again and gazed down at her.
Something wild in his eyes called to her, reminded her that as frayed and scattered to pieces as she felt just then-he was much the same. And she had barely touched him. But she remembered, then, the best way to get him back. He wanted to unravel her. She could do the same to him.
"An abomination."
Without warning his hands slid free from between her legs. She almost cried out in protest, until he lifted them up to his mouth, and licked the fingers he'd used to pleasure her. He dragged her mouth to his, stroking forcefully with his tongue so she could taste herself in his kiss.
"My fingers," he said into her mouth. "Inside you. My face in your eyes."
"Kai," she murmured, confused.
She found his hand, battling it as he tried to keep it in place on her face, but she squeezed the bones of his fingers tightly until a crack broke the air. He laughed, sounding both pained and delighted, letting her guide the same hand down, to put his fingers back where they belonged.
They both groaned together when he pumped her again.
All she heard were the soft wet sounds of his hand in her sex, and the hiss of water evaporating in the air. Their magic had drained the pool. At the edge of the fresh crater they'd made, Bonnie let Kai tumble her onto the ground, into a tiny puddle of warm water on her back.
He still wore his clothes, even as he slid over her. His hands slipped under the bra to palm her breast. His touch grew keen, but also less bruising, and her body was pliant under him, rubbing in delicious friction, her bare skin against his damp clothes. The vibration of his magic against hers was a rapid beat that kept time with her heart, pounding between her ribs. Or maybe it was mixed with his. He wrapped another hand around her hair as her own reached down, prodding the tent in his pants.
His voice dropped into a growl. He kissed her again. She took it as invitation to wind her tongue along his. He tensed, then his hands squeezed her hips, clutching desperately, moving around to pull her to him as his hips rolled into hers. Around them the chairs beside the pool scraped the ground on a harsh wind. The lone poolside lamp crackled, sizzling out with a pop. Bonnie cried out in time with Kai's grunts turning hoarse, as he buried himself into her, her body slick against his damp hardness. When he opened her legs wider, she followed suit, but with her mind, and pulled him down to drown with her.
Now she felt what he did-
-Her tight core milked his fingers, her gasp turning into a moan. He lost his mind for a second, gripped by his need for more of her, but also of magic, and sharing it, and then naturally, because of what he was-siphoning it.
He kept her tightly pressed to him, as he opened their kiss wider and the urge to devour her consumed his thoughts. The burn in his brain worked its way down, to his throat. In seconds, his lips tingled, while her small hands started beating at his chest. He barely registered the cement beneath her cracking, while he stroked his way along her mouth with his tongue-
Bonnie swatted at his jaw, her mouth seared with pain. Unbidden, tears stung her eyes. Kai, seemingly in a daze, touched one that trickled down her cheek.
"Whoops," he said, a wrinkle forming between his brows.
"You stole it!" she hissed, her fingers on her mouth.
-His own held traces of a familiar burn as he gazed back still hazy-headed. He'd siphoned her, without meaning to. With his kiss.
She was taking it the wrong way-
"Why did-ugh, forget it, get off me."
Her lips were puckered up tight, not at all sexy or welcoming she knew, but he worked his hands along her jaw and she felt him feed her back her looted magic. Somewhere in his actions, she tasted hints of remorse. It warmed their bodies, this sharing, and soon had melted some of her fight. He nipped at her mouth in apology, taking a long drag along her bottom lip as he leaned slightly back and tried to explain.
"Bonnie-" he paused, rubbing her shoulder and then swooping his face down to rest on her chest. He kissed the tops of her breasts. She punched his temple, then reared back to try it again, but his hands caught hers, and held them.
"Jackass," she said.
"I goofed."
She pondered that, her mind flickering with what she'd gleaned from his own. It was true. He'd gone on autopilot, his siphoning taking over in a moment of unbridled need.
"I'll make it up to you."
Then he dipped out of sight, splaying her thighs apart, burying his nose where his fingers had just been. Her slit parted under his tongue, slow and laving and hot as it slipped into her folds, bringing her rapidly back to the edge. He was really good at this. She didn't want to explore why, was just glad she'd let him be her first to get to third base. She was desperate to have his tongue shoved deeper, his mouth sucking harder against that nub that went tighter, the pressure radiating around her core.
Her keen moan pierced the thick air around them. He lapped away her protest and any last traces of sanity. She arched up, caught his nose buried deep against her, and then it happened-she came, for the first time, with a man's name spilling out from the back of her throat, and Kai's tongue in place to catch her juices in lazy, long strokes.
-No, not a man, an abomination-
Seconds later, his ragged breathing joined hers. She caught sight of the wet spot across the front of his pants. She'd left the mindlink open. When she reached orgasm, so had he. She fought dueling urges. One to bite her lip and laugh, and the other to fall face first into the puddle of water under her, and wish this had all been just another wet dream of hers, shared with Kai.
But the play of smug on his face chased quickly away by his sheepish grin felt all too real. He didn't move, and neither did she; soon laying on the bottom of the wasted pool, atop the shallow puddle, began to feel normal. Good, even. Better when Kai ran an idle finger across her collarbone, then whispered something barely coherent under his breath.
It would be easy to fall asleep just then.
She closed her eyes, but he nudged her.
"No snoring on the job, Bon."
"What job?"
"Modified cloaking spell for us."
"You said your coven wasn't around."
"Sweet as it is to hear you taking me at my word, think for a sec, Bonnie. Who do we really need to stay off our backs right now?"
His touch glided over her mouth, then he bent to kiss her again.
"Grams," she muttered against his lips.
"Ding ding ding."
He let her push him off as she slid to the side, resting her head on one hand to study him. He lay there, long and lean, an eyeful of damp and cool and satisfied, smirking back at her. A shy smile almost slipped out in response, that she quickly buried.
Did he even know what just happened? In her own head it sounded dumb-sentimental in that trashy romance paperback way-but it meant a lot to her. Even as warped as she now was thanks to their bond, it wasn't everyday she went around letting a boy get a taste of her. Scratch that-a man. Not a boy.
-No, not a man. An abomination-
"Little late, anyway," she said brusquely. "Shouldn't we have cloaked ourselves before-"
"Caving in to your not-so-hidden desire to get frisky with yours truly?" His smirk tilted wider. "Nah. I snuck a blanket sleeping spell in earlier on everybody here, when you first mentioned taking this dip. Think of it as an audience of sleeping beauties surrounding us behind all those curtained windows."
"No, thanks. I'd rather not think about what we just did. Pretty sure it was illegal in most states."
That drew him up, laughing as he sat cross-legged. He gestured to the remains of the pool around them.
"Anyway, we've got a massive circle working in our favor. Who needs chalk or candles, right? Macguyver would know to make the most of this."
His wrist flicked up, sparks shooting out from the shattered pieces of the lamp post. Something on the ground flared in, then out. She fixed her bra and panty back into place, then sat like him and grabbed hold of his wrist. Closing her eyes so he could channel her magic, she willed herself not to shiver when his fingers caressed the back of her hand.
"Stop it, Kai."
"'Kay."
They chanted in tandem, a ring of fire coating the edges of the concrete pool. Bonnie gave into a smile then, letting her magic fully merge with his as they finished casting the spell together.